Toxic Father
So, the relationship between Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne is a somewhat complicated but genuinely common situation. I speak from my own experience.
When Dick was a child, he and Bruce had a pure father-son relationship. It was amazing how they were glued together, and even though Bruce wasn't Dick's biological father he learned that everything was fine and put Bruce in a special place in his heart.
Bruce went out of his way to be a present father, to make his son happy. And even though there were disagreements at times, Bruce seemed to love Dick as much as the boy loved him. That's why Dick didn't like being too far from him, he wanted them to be together because he saw him as family
Until Dick got older, and his hugs went down considerably. Bruce and he started to argue more and more, until it got to the point that they argued over anything. Bruce seemed less and less like a loving father and more like a strict boss.
Jokes that made Bruce laugh one day, the next day made him angry. It was almost unpredictable how his mood worked. So much so that Dick was always a little cautious. Sometimes when he expected Bruce to laugh, he screamed and other times he expected Bruce to scream sympathy.
This confused Dick and gave him hope that they would be the same again.
Bruce diminished the attention he gave to Dick and followed the teaching "You are wrong until someone else proves the opposite to me", because for him Dick's opinion seemed to have turned into nothing.
When Dick made a mistake, even if it was a silly thing, Bruce got stressed with him to the point that Dick started to get angry with him for the same silly things.
This was getting worse. And Dick was desperate when the anger left, because he didn't expect his relationship with a man he saw as a father to be so exhausting. He still loved Bruce, but he felt exhausted after spending a lot of time with him.
Until Bruce throws Dick out of the house.
And Dick thinks it was his fault, because of course he will think so. That he should have been patient, that he was the child, that he deserved it all and that Bruce was sure he never adopted him.
When Jason appeared, Dick's world shook. The relationship looked like it did with Bruce, but ... better? Even though Bruce was growing up, he could hear him. Bruce treated him with such respect. Bruce adopted him.
And even after Jason killed so many people, Bruce accepted him back into the family with open arms. "God, if it were me? He would have left me in the trash. I would have gone to a worse place than a sanatorium for that matter."
Funny don't you think? Dick still loves Bruce, but every time he spends a lot of time with Bruce he feels like he's going to cry.
Dick needs help, as he knows this relationship is toxic but ... he knows it could be worse. God Wally's parents are worse, Slade is worse, Tara's family is worse, Raven's father is worse and her siblings' family? He should be grateful that they have a good relationship most of the time.
Even if Bruce chokes on his voice.
Even though Bruce beat him sometimes.
Even though Bruce made him cry.
Even though Bruce made him feel like nothing.
He should be grateful that they have a good time, that one day their relationship was good ... right?
"You remind me every day. I'm not enough, but I still stay" - July (Miley Cyrus)
"Love everything you do when you call me fucking dumb for the stupid shit I do" - Training Wheels (Melanie Martinez)